Directed By Douglas Sirk (7 DVD)

Features the Douglas Sirk films HAS ANYONE SEEN MY GAL?, ALL I DESIRE, MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, WRITTEN ON THE WIND, THE TARNISHED ANGELS, and IMITATION OF LIFE. In ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, Douglas Sirk's haunting suburban morality play, Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, a wealthy middle-aged widow in love with a younger man considered by those around her to be far below her social standing. Her torrid affair with Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), a handsome, earthy gardener, quickly creates unbearable societal pressure for Cary. Giving in to the scathing criticism of her stodgy neighbours and her materialistic children, Cary severs contact with Ron. She then discovers--perhaps too late--that her heart cannot be so easily caged. Douglas Sirk whips up a devastating maelstrom of melodrama in WRITTEN ON THE WIND, the explosive tale of the Hadleys, a wealthy Texas oil family whose debauched members are on a crash course for self-destruction. From the windswept drunken car ride and pistol shot opening the film, Sirk leads an artful backward glance at the misjudgements, cruelty and bad faith that led the Hadleys and their unfortunate hangers-on to the point of no return. In Douglas Sirk's emotionally and visually extravagant final film IMITATION OF LIFE, a life's work of subverted melodrama and razor-sharp social commentary are brought to a resounding and baroque climax. In a role that closely resembles and perhaps parodies her own life, Lana Turner plays Lora Meredith, an aspiring actress and single mother who meets Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore), a black and similarly single and struggling mother. When they move in together, Annie assumes the role of domestic servant and the two women struggle together to raise their two daughters.